Rewind
by shunkie
Summary: Bella left Forks five years ago, but she's back to stay. Unbeknownst to her, there's someone who's very happy she's back. ExB
1. Chapter 1

**I don't own anything! Not even my computer :( POV will change in this story, so look out for the italicized, underlined, bolded words.**

**Chapter 1: New Beginnings**

_**BPOV:**_

I sighed heavily as I walked through the breezy tunnel connecting the plane I had just spent several hours on to solid Washington soil. I could see my father waving energetically at me from the greeting area and I forced myself to put on a smile for him. I thought I had escaped this place five years ago when I graduated from Forks High and vowed never to return, but of course, I had been proven wrong. After I left college, I had jumped from job to job, but could never find a steady teaching job anywhere, until Charlie had excitedly told me about an opening at Forks High. I resisted as long as I could, but the prospect of steady money and a stable post was too alluring. I kept reminding myself that maybe Forks itself wasn't that bad, maybe it had just been the horror that was high school.

"Bells!" My dad exclaimed, hugging my tightly. "I thought I'd never see you in Forks again, after all that happened in-" He cut himself off, realizing rightly that I didn't want to talk about what had happened over six years ago now. "I'm so glad you're here!"

"I'm happy to see you, too," I smiled wanly. Travel had never been a passion of mine for the sole reason that it exhausted me. Charlie took my little wheelie carry-on suitcase that held clothes for about a week until the rest of my stuff arrived in a few days, leaving me to hold on to my handbag. I shivered as we exited the airport; although it was late August, the wind was still brisk. I tightened my comfy fleece jacket around myself.

"So how was your flight?" Charlie asked politely. I shrugged.

"As nice as they ever are," Despite Charlie's obvious happiness to have me back in town, the prodigal daughter returned, we soon lapsed into familiar uncomfortable silence. We made most of the drive from Port Angeles to Forks before one of us spoke again.

"Do you want me to drop you off at your apartment to get settled and then eat or vice versa?" Charlie asked, waiting on my instruction to make the turn that would take us to my new, as-yet unseen apartment. He had gotten it for me so I didn't have to make an extra trip out, and I trusted that it was fine. I thought for a moment before answering.

"I think apartment first. I kind of want to take a shower, you know, get all the travel grime off me." I said, somewhat apologetic. I didn't know if this would hurt his feelings, but him being gruff Charlie, he just nodded and turned. "Maybe we can meet for dinner in a couple hours?" He nodded again, and started talking about all the good restaurants in town. Soon enough, we were in front of a large brick building just off the main street in Forks. It had pretty ivy growing up the walls and a homey air, and I knew right away that I loved it. "It's gorgeous, Dad! Thank you!" Impulsively, I leaned over and hugged him. He started blushing, a tendency that I had inherited.

"No problem, sweetie. I already got the deposit and stuff taken care of, and most of your furniture got here yesterday, so that's up there, but I didn't arrange it. Here's the key," he said, and handed me a shiny new key. "It's 2A, remember. I'll see you in two hours, honey," he said, and I hopped out of the car with my wheelie suitcase, excited for the first time about my new life back in Forks.

--

Entering the apartment, I was almost speechless. "Thank you, Charlie!" I exclaimed, and dropped my bags to run from room to room. _I can't believe this is mine,_ I thought. The apartment was not large, but it was beautiful. There was a small foyer with a tiny table, and a kitchen with shiny oak cabinets. The living room, the largest room in the apartment, had several big windows, and felt airy and free. The bedroom and the connecting bathroom were painted a sunny light yellow, and I quickly decided that they were my favorite rooms. As Charlie had said, most of my furniture was clustered in the living room, and as soon as I tried pushing my familiar bed into the bedroom, I knew it wouldn't work. _Oh well,_ I thought. _Maybe I'll make some strong friends_. As I thought it, I knew what my best friend in Phoenix would have said. I could almost hear Angela laughing as she advised, _Maybe that's not all they'll be helping you with..._ I felt tears rush into my eyes as I thought about her. We had been friends since freshman year of college, and moved in together after we graduated. However, she had found a steady job immediately, and was even engaged to be married in a few months to her college boyfriend, Ben. Whereas I had to move across the country to find a job and hadn't even had a date in a year. I had to smile through my tears at the sheer self-pity I could hear in my mind. Angela would never let me wallow, even when I felt I had perfectly good reason, and so I plugged in my iPod stereo and started playing music loudly while I arranged the smaller furniture.

--

A few hours later, the apartment was sparse, but it was done. The kitchen was stocked with most of my utensils and dishes, the bedroom was organized neatly (I knew it wouldn't stay that way for long), and the living room was full of all the things too large to move, like my bed. I perched on the edge of the kitchen counter and sipped a glass of water, surveying my work. I still hadn't showered, but I didn't want to until I was satisfied for the time being. Finally, I nodded and hopped off, heading to the bathroom to wash off. I turned the music up so I could still hear it while I showered and rummaged through my hastily-organized closet, finding my soft dark blue flannel robe and shrugging into it. I grabbed my bag of toiletries from my wheelie suitcase and set them in a careful line along the edge of the tub, deciding to take a really quick shower after glancing at the clock. Charlie would be calling soon.

Ten minutes later, I was toweling off when I realized I had forgotten my hairbrush in my living room. I pulled on my robe, running my fingers through my long hair to detangle it before it became a lost cause. I nearly had a heart attack when I walked out into the living room to see a tall, lanky guy around my own age leaning on the same counter I had been sitting on ten minutes before.

"Don't worry, Charlie sent me," he said before I could fully process that there was a total stranger in my apartment. I grasped the front of my robe closer, realizing how unclothed I was.

"Um..." I searched for how best to phrase this. "Who are you?" He laughed.

"I'm Edward Cullen, I live in the building. I actually met your dad when he came in looking for an apartment for you. He wanted me to help you get set up, but it looks like you did okay, except for, you know, the bed. Unless this is your bedroom?" He said, giving a little superior laugh.

"No, but I'm fine," I said stiffly. "I'll just take it apart and move it in there."

"You don't look like the kind of girl who's handy with tools," he observed dryly. _I don't like you,_ I thought.

"You don't look like the kind of guy who's handy with tools," I retorted. He didn't, actually. He was tall, but pretty skinny, with dark auburn hair and green eyes. He looked like the kind of guy who ran for student government in high school- not totally geeky, but definitely not popular clique material.

"Ah, but appearances are deceiving," he said, and pulled out a toolbox from behind him. "I'm entirely at your disposal." I blushed at the faint double entendre. Clearly, he understood, and had in fact meant to make me uncomfortable.

"Maybe you could come back when I'm fully clothed," I said with forced politeness. _How can he just come in here and take over?_ I seethed internally. One of the things I detested most was people trying to help me simply because I was small and female. I was no great feminist, but I did feel like I was perfectly capable.

"Sure," he said easily, grabbing the toolbox and heading toward the door. "By the way," he stopped and turned to face me. "I'm having dinner with you and Charlie tonight, so I'll see you later," he gave me a crooked grin clearly meant to endear himself to me, and left, carefully shutting the door behind himself.

"Bye," I singsonged quietly, grabbing my hairbrush and running it angrily through my hair. Unfortunately, the tangles had started to set in, and the tugging made me angrier. My hair was long, about to the middle of my back, but I was seriously considering cutting it all off at this point. I chose dark jeans and a comfortable gray sweater for dinner, not wanting this arrogant Edward to think I dressed up for him. _He clearly thinks all the women of the world fall at his feet_, I thought scathingly. I stuck my feet into my beat-up old Converse and grabbed my bag off the small table in the foyer before heading out. It looked safe in the hallway, but as I reached the stairway, I saw a messy-haired auburn head bobbing down the stairs, and I sighed. Unfortunately, there was no other way out of the building, and I reluctantly opened the door and headed out myself. I internally grimaced as I saw the head turn around in surprise.

"Bella!" Edward called. "Fancy meeting you here," he said. I tried to smile.

"Yes, fancy it," I muttered. We reached the bottom of the stairs and I saw Charlie's cruiser parked outside. "Shotgun," I called quickly.

"A bit juvenile, isn't it?" Edward remarked, affecting a sophisticated accent.

"What?" I asked, though I knew. _I am not the juvenile one here. _

"Calling shotgun," he replied. I scoffed.

"Whatever," I said, reaching the car and opening the door. "You just wish you'd thought of it." I was feeling less and less obligation to be kind to this arrogant man. "Hi Dad," I said as Edward slid into the backseat. I felt a surge of pleasure at seeing him behind bars in the back of the cruiser.

"Hi, Chief Swan," Edward said respectfully.

"Hi, kids," Charlie said cheerfully, pulling into the meager traffic on the main street. "Where do you want to have dinner?"

"How about that Chinese place on 3rd?" I asked. That had been a major hangout of mine in high school, and I had fond memories of learning scraps of Chinese from the cook. How that family had chosen to immigrate to Forks of all places, I had no idea, but I was grateful.

"Fine with me. Edward?"

"Whatever Bella wants," Edward replied courteously. Charlie beamed, and I scowled. I could tell where this was going. Charlie had tried to set me up two times before, both with sons of men on the police force in town, and both times it was unbearably awkward. What really irritated me, though, was that Edward was playing right along. He had to know what my dad was planning! We pulled into the parking lot at the restaurant after about ten minutes of horribly awkward conversation; or at least, horribly awkward for me.

"Hi, welcome to- Bella Swan! It's been years!" The hostess, who was also the wife of the cook, had been, sadly, a friend to me while I was in high school. "You're so beautiful! Not that you weren't always, but wow!" She gave me a tight hug. "And such a handsome boyfriend," she said, looking at Edward appreciatively.

"He is not my boyfriend," I said firmly. I saw Edward actually look a little hurt out of the corner of my eye and I felt instantly bad. "We just met today," I amended.

"He's helping her set up her new apartment; she just moved back," Charlie chimed in. The woman smiled widely and gestured us to a large booth near the fishtank.

"Here you go, everybody. Bella's favorite table, if I recall correctly," she winked, and handed out menus. My dad had taken one side of the booth, and Edward had sat right down in the other, so I had to sit next to one of them. Charlie saw my hesitation and suggested, "Why don't you sit with Edward, honey?" I groaned inwardly, but complied. The seats were big enough that I wouldn't have to touch him. This was going to be an interesting night.

--

_**EPOV:**_

As I unlocked the door to my apartment, I sighed deeply. I could tell Bella didn't even remember me. We'd gone to high school together for four years, and my name didn't even ring a bell. This didn't bother me as much, however, as the fact that I could tell she didn't like me. This was a problem. I had thought, when I met Charlie by chance a couple weeks before while he was touring the building, that this was my shot. I knew it was creepy, and pathetic, and weird to still harbor a crush on a girl you knew in high school five years after high school was over, but I couldn't help myself. When we were in high school, I couldn't muster up the courage to even talk to her. She had seemed so untouchable, laughing with her best friend every day at lunch, and flirting with that awful Mike Newton. I'd come up with a plan junior year to become more like Mike so maybe I'd have a shot, but it failed miserably, and I'd retreated back into my shell even further. Sure, during college I'd dated a few girls, and it would seem to be going fine for a few weeks, until I could no longer stop myself from comparing them to Bella, this girl I barely knew anything about. So when Charlie came along, I couldn't help but keep asking about her, and pretty soon he picked it up. I resolved to try to be more outgoing, but clearly this was backfiring, if the annoyance that flashed across her face whenever I spoke that night was any indication. Honestly, that was fine with me; I wasn't naturally a very outgoing person. I flopped down on the couch and pulled my phone out of my pocket to dial Jasper, one of my best friends.

"Hey, Jasper," I said, sounding self-pitying even to myself.

"It didn't go so well, did it?" Jasper asked sympathetically. He also had attended high school with me and Bella, and had been with me since the beginning.

"No! I tried to be all witty and stuff, but I think I was just obnoxious," I sighed, and got up to grab a drink from the fridge.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Jasper said, skeptical. "You had girls all over you in college, and you could have even in high school if you had tried a little harder." I scoffed.

"Sure, whatever. Anyway, I was hoping we could hang out tomorrow. Her dad asked me to help her set up her apartment, but I'm pretty sure she thinks I'm just a huge creep, so there will need to be witnesses."

"Sounds fine. I'll see you around ten?"

"All right. Bye," I flipped the phone closed and sat back for a moment, trying to think of any way this could possibly work. I felt my heart sink as I realized there was no possible way it could work. _I need to get over her,_ I thought bitterly. _She must have some flaw. I guess I can find out tomorrow._

**What did you guys think? Edward is a little bit pathetic, but isn't he always? :) I think of him as having self-esteem issues. He doesn't get how awesome he is! Review please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again everyone! You have no idea how gratifying it was to open up my email and see so many messages, even though they weren't reviews :) Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: Moving Day**

_**BPOV:**_

The next day dawned bright and early. I scrunched up my face against the sunlight streaming through my living room windows; I had opted to sleep on my bed even though it wasn't in the bedroom. It just hurt too much to sleep on the floor. _I must be getting old,_ I reflected wryly. _At least it'll be moved into the bedroom tonight._ I scowled as I remembered that because Charlie had to work today, he had drafted Edward to help me set up my furniture that I couldn't move by myself and unload the rest of my furniture that was to arrive that day. Suddenly, I remembered that Edward was supposed to arrive at ten, and I snatched my cell phone off the stack of boxes beside my bed, and swore under my breath. It was already nine-fifty. I hopped out of bed, throwing the covers off myself, and hurried to the bathroom to try and make myself presentable. There was no need to pretty myself up; it was only Edward, and I would only be moving stuff all day. I threw on jeans, sneakers, and my oldest, softest sweatshirt. It was also my all-purpose painting and housework shirt, as evidenced by the various splatters and stains covering it. I shoved my hair into a high ponytail, pulling the end only halfway through so it formed a sort of very messy loop. After washing my face and brushing my teeth as quickly as possible, it was just about ten, and I heard a knock on the door. _At least he's knocking now,_ I thought bitterly, and flushed as I remembered yesterday's meeting. I headed over to the door and opened it, only to be surprised yet again when I saw a large blond guy standing there with a tiny dark-haired girl fairly bouncing with excitement standing behind him.

"Bella Swan?" He asked, seeming a little nervous. "I'm Jasper Hale. One of Edward's friends? I'm here to help you move with him." The girl behind him hit his arm. "And this is-" Suddenly, I recognized her.

"Alice Brandon?" I asked, hoping I was right. This could be embarrassing. But I knew I recognized that intense energy and spiky black hair. She rushed forward and hugged me hard.

"Oh my gosh, you remembered! It's been so long!" She squeaked. I laughed.

"Of course I remember you! I remember you, too, Jasper, of course. You two are still together?" They nodded happily. "That's so great, you guys." Just then, Edward showed up, dressed in dark jeans and a hunter green long-sleeved shirt that matched his eyes. _Whoa,_ I chided myself mentally. _We don't like him, self. Remember that, and don't think about his eyes. _

"Hey, guys, did you start the party without me?" He asked, smiling at Jasper and Alice. He seemed much more at ease than he had the night before. All the tension that had been between us seemed to vanish. Was it possible that the bravado-spouting, innuendo-making jerk of the night before had been some sort of bizarre act? But why? _I'll just have to wait and see._

"Oh, Edward, we'd never start a moving party without you," Alice said, completely sincere. "You know I'm just here to watch you two fine fellas use those muscles." She gave Jasper a sly smile. Seeing all of them together, laughing just like high school, I felt a flashback. _Didn't Edward go to school with us too?_ All of a sudden, I felt like a grade-A idiot. Of course he did. Jasper, Alice, Edward, Emmett McCarty, and Rosalie Hale had been the most untouchably popular clique in school, and they didn't do anything to get that title. They barely interacted with the other students, but somehow managed to be the most envied, and in Rosalie's case, feared students in school. I was now surprised that they remembered me. By the time I zoned back in, they were all looking at me with varying expressions. Edward was totally blank, Jasper was laughing at the (I'm sure) supremely intelligent look on my face, and Alice looked concerned.

"Sorry, guys, I was just flashing back to high school. Seeing you all in the cafeteria, you know, it looked exactly the same just now." I tried to subtly emphasize the 'all', so Edward knew I remembered him. He had given me such a strange look the night before when we'd talked about high schools, and now I knew why. He looked oddly happy now, though. "What are Emmett and Rosalie up to, though?"

"Well-" Alice said, then gestured inside. "Can we come in?" I nodded, embarrassed that they had to ask.

"Of course. Sit anywhere; we're going to be moving it all soon anyway." They all came in and sat down in various places. "So. Emmett and Rosalie?"

"They're married, actually. Got hitched a few months ago," Jasper drawled.

"Aw, that's so cute," I said honestly. "They always made a nice couple."

"Their wedding was so beautiful, too," Alice said. "Rosalie wore a gorgeous strapless Vera Wang, and Emmett-" She stopped herself. "We should get started on moving before I really get going," she laughed, and stood up.

"Yeah, enough chit chat," Jasper said. He and Edward started pulling the mattress off my bed to take it apart and reassemble in my bedroom, while Alice and I went to start putting my clothes away in more order. She gasped when she saw my closet.

"How did you get such an amazing closet in such a small apartment?" Immediately I could tell she felt bad. "I mean-" I dismissed it with a wave of my hand.

"No, I like how little it is. I'm not one for a lot of cleaning, you know, so it'll be easier. What about my closet, now?" She peered inside it. It was a kind of half-walk-in, not huge, but definitely spacious.

"It's a thing of beauty. Whoever built this building knew women," she breathed. "Not too big, not too small..." She started arranging my clothes inside it, and I decided to leave her to it. I headed to the bathroom to arrange my toiletries in the small free-standing cabinet that also housed my laundry basket. I heard Alice's quick footsteps out to the living room, and muted voices before music turning on.

"Is that okay, Bella? I just thought we needed a little moving music," she said, doing a quick hip wiggle. Clearly, Alice was one of those infuriatingly good-at-everything girls, because that one spontaneous move was better than anything I could ever do with practice.

"Sure, but don't expect me to dance," I laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure you can dance," she said, seeming sincere. My jaw dropped open.

"You are the only person ever in my life to tell me they think I can dance, but I think that's only because yo u haven't seen it," I laughed.

"We'll go clubbing sometime," she dismissed my self-deprecation, and flitted back to my closet. I shook my head incredulously and turned back to my organizing. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and flipped it open. It was the movers, telling me that they had my other furniture and they needed me to come downstairs to open the door.

"Guys, I have to run downstairs to let the movers in, okay?" Edward set down his end of the bedpost he was about to move into the bedroom.

"I'll go with you," he volunteered. I shrugged.

"Okay," I replied. We headed downstairs, not saying anything. It was a bit awkward, but not nearly as bad as the night before. He honestly did seem much better, and I didn't understand it. We made it all the way downstairs to see a few young guys who I supposed were the movers.

"Bella Swan?" One asked when I opened the door. I nodded.

"Yep. Apartment 2A," They started carrying in random boxes as I propped open the door with a brick I'd brought just for that purpose. I leaned against the wall to supervise, telling each guy that stumbled through the door carrying far too much weight that my apartment was 2A, and no, there was no elevator, it was only the second floor. Edward laughed to see all the inept movers attempting to look macho.

"Charlie picked the movers, needless to say," I laughed with him. Charlie felt bad for anyone telling a sad story; clearly these movers had buttered him up with some sob story about having to drop out of college and needing a job. I doubted they were even professional. "So do you miss Forks High?" I asked suddenly. He looked taken aback.

"What makes you ask?" He asked guardedly, which surprised me. _What does he have to regret about high school?_ I thought somewhat bitterly. I shrugged and smiled, prompting him to answer. "I don't know," he replied. "Life hasn't been much different; I usually just hang out with Jasper, Emmett, Alice, and Rosalie still." He grinned. "I know it's pathetic, but making new friends has never been my strong suit. But you know that, we weren't the most popular in high school."

"That's ridiculous," I scoffed, smiling. "In high school, you had everyone eating out of the palm of your hand; all of you did." I tried to make this come off as a joke, but I couldn't suppress the edge of curiosity. Could he really not have realized that any girl in Forks would have killed to go on a single date with him?

"Sure," he laughed, clearly skeptical. I wanted to respond to this startling new idea, but one of the movers came up to me.

"Can you sign this to prove we gave you your stuff?" He asked gruffly. I took the proffered clipboard.

"No problem," I replied as I scribbled my name. He nodded and took it when I was finished, setting it down in the cab of the truck and directing the now-returning movers. "So what were we talking about?" I could tell by Edward's uncomfortable stance that he wasn't too thrilled with our current topic, and gave him a chance to change it.

"Actually, I was thinking; why don't you head back up to make sure Alice and Jasper are still actually unpacking? I can handle these guys," He gestured to the inept movers; right on time, one dropped a box marked _BOOKS_ right on his foot and howled.

"I would hope you can," I laughed. "Okay. I'll be back or send one of them down to keep you company." I headed back up the stairs, narrowly missing two movers on the way. Up in the apartment, things were starting to come together. Charlie had only had about half of my furniture to set up before I arrived, so it had looked a little piecey. But now, my bookshelves were being assembled in the living room, and Alice was holding up several framed photographs and trying to pick where to put them. She turned around, startled, as I entered.

"Sorry, Bella, I know you probably want to pick where your photos go," She sighed, and made to hand them to me. I waved her away.

"No, go ahead," I responded. "You probably have a better design eye than me, and they aren't that important." Alice looked down at the picture on top of the stack, which happened to be one of my childhood home in Phoenix, with the sun setting behind it.

"But they're beautiful, Bella," she said earnestly.

"Thank you, but honestly, you can choose," I smiled, blushing at her praise. She grinned, and I turned around to see Jasper right behind me.

"She likes to be in charge, doesn't she?" I asked, gesturing to Alice, who was already grabbing tiny nails out of the tool belt she had refused to wear and instead placed on a table nearby. He laughed.

"Yeah, just wait until she starts dressing you up. Where's Edward?"

"He's downstairs still with the movers. He wanted me to come up and make sure you guys were okay, but I promised I would either come back or send one of you guys to keep him company." Alice turned around abruptly and shared a look with Jasper. He cleared his throat.

"I think we're okay here, so you can head back. Sorry you had to come all the way up, though. Tell him just to text," Jasper said with a small smile. Alice nodded and turned back around. _Okay... what just happened?_ I wondered to myself. Something was up, but both their faces were unfathomable, so I just shrugged and headed back down the stairs.

Down in the entrance, Edward was still directing movers, now carrying boxes full of my belongings. I didn't have much, but it took up a surprising amount of space. My friends hadn't allowed me to pack properly, so we'd just shoved things in boxes and gone out to spend as much time together as possible. However, it looked as if the movers were almost done.

"How is the dynamic duo?" Edward asked, turning to me with a smile that almost took my breath away. When I recovered, trying not to think about the implications of that reaction, I smiled back.

"They seem fine," I replied. I decided not to mention the strange vibe they'd had. "Alice is happily arranging pictures, and Jasper is... helping, I suppose. I don't know really." I laughed, picturing the tall blond with a Texan drawl and the tiny brunette.

"That's what he's there for," Edward remarked dryly. "Ever since freshman year of high school when they set eyes on each other."

"They're so sweet together." I said, looking out the window into the drizzle. Edward didn't reply, and the remark hung in the air awkwardly. A few minutes later, a stocky young guy came up to us with a clipboard.

"Um, we're just about finished, and we need you to sign," he said. I obligingly scrawled my name on the line and he nodded and walked away. I clapped my hands together, suddenly excited. "Let's go up and start setting up for real!" I said happily. Edward smiled slightly, clearly still thinking about Jasper and Alice. "Are you okay?" I asked.

"I don't know. Yes." He seemed uninclined to further elaborate, so I simply gestured to the stairs. He held the door open for me, and I bounded up the stairs two at a time. The door to my apartment was held open with a brick, and I could see Alice dancing gracefully to music playing. Jasper was laughing and placing books on a shelf.

"We're back," Edward singsonged, and right away the tension disappeared. Alice and Jasper turned to us, laughing. "Looks like you two are being productive," He remarked, crossing his arms and lounging against the wall.

"Hey, it's not our fault Bella fails at packing," Alice said, pointing to a box labeled CLOTHES in my messy scribble that was overflowing with sweaters.

"So true," Jasper added as he moved to stand beside Alice in an unconscious gesture of solidity.

"It's fine, you guys," I said. "I don't have that much stuff anyway. All I really need is some help putting together my furniture."

"And they can definitely do that," Alice piped up. "See, Edward, all those hours at the gym with Emmett trying to hook you up with a girl may have finally paid off." Edward blushed bright red.

"Let's get to work, then," Jasper said.

**What do you guys think??? **


	3. Chapter 3

**Thanks you guys! Flashbacks are in italics.**

**Chapter 3: First Day At Forks High... Again**

That night as I lay in bed and reviewed the day, I felt content here in Forks. If someone had asked me five years ago if I would ever be happy back in Forks, I would have politely tried to hide the scorn I would have felt. However, it felt different now. I was still trying to sort out the whole Edward issue... it seemed he didn't quite remember high school the way I did. He had truly been the most godlike guy there, even when we were younger. I smiled to myself in the dark as I remembered a specific incident.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

_I was changing as fast as I could after gym class. It wasn't quite that I was ashamed of my body, or I was worried that anyone would make fun of me, but it was my habit. As I shoved my feet into socks and shoes, I heard the familiar name and paused. _

_"What about Edward Cullen?" I heard the squeal of two cheerleaders outside my tiny bathroom stall. They were both seniors, and clearly discussing possible dates for the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance. _

_"But he's just a sophomore," One whined. The other tutted._

_"Yeah, well, beggars can't be choosers. And he is super hot, even hotter than all the juniors. Probably even some of the seniors, too." I could practically hear the wheels turning in the whiny cheerleader's head._

_"That's true," She thought out loud. "Okay, I'll ask him. That'll show Brad, when I show up with Edward!" I laughed to myself. Even I knew nobody had a shot with Edward Cullen. He didn't date._

_Later that day, I saw the same cheerleader rushing to the bathroom in tears after being politely rejected. I saw Edward's face, and I could tell that he felt genuinely bad about hurting her feelings, despite the good-natured teasing he endured from Emmett and Jasper. _

_-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-_

I still couldn't believe I hadn't remembered him right away. _But it's not that unreasonable, _I justified to myself. _He was like some kind of hermit. _ The only way Edward interacted with the other kids at school was through actual class. Emmett was on the football team, Rosalie was head cheerleader, and Jasper and Alice were able to effortlessly charm anyone. But Edward stayed to himself, except for a strange brief stint in junior year, when he seemed more outgoing, but in an odd way. It was like he learned everything about human interaction from awful teen movies. Thankfully for everyone, that phase passed quickly. Although Edward was practically idolized among the female population of Forks, the interest almost completely passed when they had to make conversation with him. He'd certainly changed, or maybe I had. He seemed more at ease.

I sighed restlessly and flopped over. The clock read 11:10, and childishly, I began formulating a wish to wish at 11:11. My first day of work was the next day; back at Forks High for real. My job here was teaching AP Biology, the very class I'd practically run my senior year. I was almost excited. Alice helped me pick out an outfit that said young, but serious, and I was looking forward to meeting the rest of the staff. I blew a kiss to the clock along with my wish at precisely 11:11, and closed my eyes to attempt sleep for real.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The next morning, I was up bright and early, wanting to give myself plenty of time to get ready for school. _So surreal,_ I thought to myself with a smile as I got dressed. Alice had chosen a slim black pencil skirt with a cobalt blue blouse, and steely gray heels. I felt ready for almost anything high school could throw at me as I quickly fixed my hair and made myself breakfast. I glanced at the clock; I was perfectly on time. _Well, this certainly never happened in high school._ I had been perpetually late, so often so that Charlie had had to drive me to school several times, sirens squealing, just so I would make second bell. I could still hear his gruff voice reminding me time and time again, "It won't do for the police chief's daughter to be late to school." He wasn't too strict, but that was one thing he was firm on.

I was snapped out of my reverie by a knock on the door. I pushed my chair away from the kitchen table and got up, dumping my now-soggy leftover cereal and milk down the disposal on the way, and checked through the tiny peephole in the door before opening it. It was Edward.

"Good morning, Edward," I greeted him as I opened the door. I was at this point certain Charlie had asked him to keep an eye on me.

"Good morning," He replied. He held out a large Starbucks coffee cup to me. "Happy first day of work!" I took it and smiled.

"Thanks, that's really sweet," I took the lid off and blew on it to cool it a bit. "So what are you doing up at seven in the morning?" He knew I was teaching at Forks High, but I hadn't managed to find out what he did.

"Didn't Alice tell you? I teach music at Forks High. I thought we could carpool to work," He said with a bit of a smirk. "Can I come in for a minute?" I stepped aside, somewhat shocked.

"How come you didn't tell me?" He shrugged, flopping himself down into a chair. He was wearing dark brown pants and a green sweater, and I noticed how nice they looked on him.

"I didn't think it was that important. I only do it to pay the bills, you know," He took a deep drag from his own Starbucks cup. "I compose."

"Really?" I said, now awestruck. I had always harbored a bit of a dream to be a great musician; the only problem was my utter lack of talent. He nodded.

"Yeah, since I was a teenager. Not much else going on," He said lightly, and I wanted to ask more. Why did he keep making comments that suggested that he hadn't been the dream of every girl at Forks High when he so clearly had been and probably still was?

He stood. "Well, let's get going then. Unless you don't want to?" There was a real question on his face. I could say no if I wanted to. But I nodded.

"Yep, let's go." I grabbed my bag and we headed out.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

When Edward and I pulled into the parking lot, my previous assumption that all the girls at Forks High loved him proved to be correct. All the teenage girls we passed gazed at him with adoration usually reserved in the young female mind for an excellent purse or an Abercrombie & Fitch model. The interesting part was that he seemed oblivious. Although this was clearly a good policy in order to avoid lawsuits and broken teenage hearts, it didn't seem like a practiced thing. I decided to test the waters.

"These kids look... friendly," I said tentatively. One brazen girl even waved at Edward as we circled the parking lot slowly, looking for his spot. He absentmindedly waved back.

"Yeah, I guess. I don't teach a lot of them, I only do three classes a day and substitute when they need me." He finally found his spot, marked with a small sign with "E. CULLEN" stenciled on it in careful black paint. He put the car in park and gave me a serious look.

"Are you ready?" He asked teasingly.

"So ready!" I said, sounding more enthusiastic than I really felt. He laughed, hopping out of the car and running around to open my door for me before I even had my seatbelt off. "Why, thank you, Mr. Cullen," I said in a posh voice.

"Quite welcome, Miss Swan," he replied in an equally posh voice. I giggled and stepped out of the car, pulling on my black trench coat as I went. A few students straggling in gave us strange looks, but it wasn't until we actually went into the school that we really got all the looks. I was clearly new, and Edward was clearly the young, hot teacher, so our appearance together made quite a stir. I could feel eyes on me as we made our way to the second floor, where my classroom was. I'd flown out here a few weeks earlier for new teacher orientation, so I was pretty much all set up.

"So how long have you taught here?" I asked as we ascended the familiarly institutional-green staircase.

"Last year was my first year," He replied. "It's not bad, you know. I probably get more goof-off students than you will; they think music is a cake class." He smirked, and I knew that that was definitely not the real reason. Girls probably took his class in hopes of receiving a smirk like that themselves. We reached my classroom.

"Well, good luck. Not that you'll need it," He smiled encouragingly. I could feel my former confidence waning. _What if they don't listen to me?_ I thought irrationally. Of all the things that could go wrong...

"Thanks. See you at lunch?" I must have looked desperate, because Edward laughed as he responded in the affirmative and headed back down the stairs to his near-basement music room. _Just like the Phantom of the Opera,_ I thought whimsically. There was no way Edward could be anything like the Phantom in any way other than his basement abode.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

I sat at my desk, arranging pencils in my "World's Best Teacher" mug. My little group in Arizona had all gotten me a basket of teaching stuff, and this was among the helpful and amusing gifts. I turned the mug so the label could only be seen by myself. I didn't want the kids thinking I was stuck-up. I was, after all, only five years older than some of them. When the students for my first period class started filing in, I tried to look professional. They stayed silent, not even chatting among themselves.

"Good morning, class," I greeted them after the second bell rang. "I'm Miss Swan, and as I'm sure you know, this is AP Biology. Let's go around the class and introduce everyone, shall we?" I smiled slightly, trying to look friendly but authoritative. However, I'd never been much of an actress, and I knew I looked ridiculous. I saw two girls exchange whispers, hair tosses, and eye rolls in a corner and decided to step up to the plate. "All right, how about you first?" I gestured to one of the two. She had long red hair and dark eyes, and looked much older than the seventeen or so that she probably was. She stood up.

"I'm Natalie Stuart," She said, sounding a bit bored with the whole process. She sat right back down in her seat, and looked at her friend expectantly. The friend dutifully stood.

"Britney McDonnough," She said. And sat down again. So it went around the circle; a predictable pattern. Stand up, say name, sit down. However, they went so fast that I barely caught half. Too quickly, my supposed icebreaker was over, and twenty teenagers looked at me expectantly. I stood there for a moment, and my confusion must have been evident, because Britney snickered loudly. That noise spurred something inside me, and I crossed the room to my desk and grabbed my teacher's edition of the text. I flipped it open to the first chapter.

"Britney, why don't you read section one point one?" I asked mildly. I'd learned long ago that teachers can't fight fire with fire. She sighed loudly, as if I'd asked her something that actually required brain cells, and opened her book and began reading. I leaned against the edge of my desk, reading along silently, until she finished.

"All right, did everyone understand that?" I asked. Twenty sleepy-looking heads nodded at me. I flipped my book shut. "Okay, then everyone put your books away." They all complied, looking confused, but I could tell Natalie and Britney caught on to what I was going to do. "Pop quiz!" I caroled. A round of angry complaining greeted this announcement. I heard muttered curses and my name being said with not too much enthusiasm, but I stuck to my decision. These kids were going to have to learn to respect me someday, because I was here to stay.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

At lunch, I was already drained. These kids were snots! Had I been that disrespectful in high school? I reflected on my own experiences with new teachers as I headed to the basement to find Edward. Teachers were allowed to go off-campus, and neither of us had a class right after lunch, so we were going to go out for lunch. As I entered the hallway that led to the music room, I heard the piano playing, and when I came into the actual room, I saw it was Edward and stayed back a little to listen. When the piece was finished, I clapped, and as his head whipped around, I saw an expression of pure panic that lessened a little when he recognized me.

"You heard that, huh?" He said sheepishly. He stood to grab his coat.

"Yeah, it was amazing!" I replied enthusiastically, and I was telling the truth. It had been beautiful.

"Let's never talk about that, okay?" He said, smiling a bit. I could tell he was trying to make a joke out of it, but he was serious. He exited the small room into the hallway, making it clear that the subject was closed.

"Okay," I said, surprised. I followed him out to the parking lot, which was full of kids lounging around on cars, enjoying recess. He held open the door of the Volvo for me, which attracted more than a few glances. "Thank you," I said awkwardly, feeling scrutinized.

"You're welcome." He replied as he slid into the driver's seat. "The plan is still for Rico's, right?" I nodded. I was still a little confused about his reaction to my hearing his piano playing, but tried to ignore it. He pulled out of the parking lot slowly, going slowly so as to avoid any unobservant students. "So how are you liking Forks High so far?" I felt a surge of deja-vu and started laughing. "What?" He asked, with a sincerely quizzical look on his face.

"It's just that it feels like junior year all over again," I said, giggling. "'Why, it's Isabella! How are you liking Forks?'" I imitated all the greetings I'd gotten back when I'd first moved to Forks, and Edward laughed with me.

"I still remember what a big deal it was, too. It was all I heard about from Carlisle and Esme, you know," He said, and looked away from the road for a minute to meet my eyes. "'Chief Swan's daughter is moving here, she's your age,'" He attempted a poor imitation of his mother's voice. "She was setting us up before you even got here." We had been chatting easily, but at this statement, it became suddenly horribly awkward. He felt it too, and tried to salvage the situation. "I mean, she was so worried back then that- You know what, I'm just going to stop talking," He said with a strained smile. "Anyway, how is it to teach here?" He subtly emphasized the "to teach". I shrugged.

"Not bad. There's a few kids who are..." I chose my words carefully; I didn't want to bash his school. "Difficult." He snorted.

"Like who? I want to know if I have them too," He said. I quickly debated with myself about whether or not to tell, then decided it was probably okay.

"Two girls in my first period class, Natalie Stuart and Britney McDonnough, are just a bit, you know, hostile." I said this carefully. To my surprise, he laughed.

"Oh, believe me, you'll find plenty of company among the faculty in that," I smiled in relief.

"Good, I was hoping that they weren't the favorites." He snickered.

"Them? No way," he said confidently. "I have them for third-period choir. They're definitely popular among the students, but not so much with the teachers." We reached the tiny restaurant and Edward pulled the car into the accompanying parking lot. Of course, he practically leapt out of the car to get to my door and open it for me.

"Thanks, but you don't have to keep doing that," I said sheepishly, blushing as I saw people staring at us. I ducked my head so maybe my hair would hide a little of it.

"It's not a problem," Edward said courteously. As we walked into the restaurant, chatting aimlessly, I thought in the back of my mind how strange it was that we hadn't been friends back in high school. It seemed so effortless now, so strange that even for a day I'd thought he was a jerk.

"I'm glad you're here," I said spontaneously. He gave me a strange look, and I decided to elaborate a bit. "I mean, today probably would have been about eight times as stressful without you here to kind of guide me." He grinned.

"My pleasure," He replied. "The first couple of weeks are boring anyway usually, although I'm sure the students are all talking about you." His face turned dark.

"What?" I asked as I looked over the menu.

"Nothing," He said, the look gone. I mentally shrugged, and changed the subject. I was learning to accept that Edward sometimes did things for no obvious reason.

We chatted throughout the meal, heading back to school when the lunch period was over. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful; simply more of the same from the morning. By the end, I was seriously exhausted and my feet were aching from my heels. I was more than ready to head home, and once I was home, I sat back and relaxed. It had been a busy day.

**All right, sorry updating is taking so long. I keep getting sucked up into school stuff! Christmas break is coming up, though, so I'll try to update way more often then. Meanwhile.... review!**


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